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Vintage Wine Estates acquires Central Coast winery
Sonoma-based wine group Vintage Wine Estates is increasing its investment in California’s Central Coast with the purchase of Pinot Noir specialist Laetitia Vineyard and Winery, which includes over 680 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
While the likes of Jackson Family Wines, Francis Ford Coppola and Foley Family Wines are heading north and investing in Oregon, Vintage Wine Estates is expanding south into California’s Central Coast.
In a release sent out by the wine group, it announced the successful purchase of Laetitia Vineyard and Winery, based in the Arroyo Grande AVA, for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes Laetitia’s production facility, inventory, vineyards, tasting room and estate guest house as well as its more than 680 acres of land, of which 287 have been planted.
Laetitia is planted with varieties including Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and produces 35,000 cases a year. It also makes sparkling wines made in a traditional method, having initially been operated as part of a joint partnership between Beringer Wine Estates and Champagne Deutz in the early 1990s. The duo sold the estate in 1997.
Vintage Wine Estates acquired fellow Arroyo Grande-based winery Qupé in November 2018 and bought Paso Robles-based Alloy Wine Works at the beginning of this month. It also owns Clayhouse Wines in Paso Robles, which it bought in 2016. It also sources fruit from the Central Coast regions for its brands Layer Cake, Purple Cowboy and Horseplay.
Commenting on the acquisition, Vintage Wine Estates CEO, Pat Roney said: “We are strongly committed to the Central Coast winegrowing region, and Laetitia will be the home and hub of our Central Coast production and operations moving forward.”
The release also confirmed that Laetitia’s current head winemaker, Eric Hickey, will stay on as part of the winemaking team at Vintage Wine Estates, becoming general manager and senior winemaker. Hickey joined Laetitia in 1988 aged just 16 and will share his knowledge of the estate and vineyards with the team going forward.